REVISION IN AUTHORITIES FOR PROVISION OF PRIORITY HEALTH CARE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS EXPOSED TO SPECIFIED TOXIC SUBSTANCES.

SEC. 102. REVISION IN AUTHORITIES FOR PROVISION OF PRIORITY HEALTH CARE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS EXPOSED TO SPECIFIED TOXIC SUBSTANCES. (a) Authorized Inpatient Care.—Section 1710(e) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking out subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(A) A Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veteran is eligible (subject to paragraph (2)) for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care under subsection (a)(2)(F) for any disability, notwithstanding that there is insufficient medical evidence to conclude that such disability may be associated with such exposure. “(B) A radiation-exposed veteran is eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care under subsection (a)(2)(F) for any disease suffered by the veteran that is— “(i) a disease listed in section 1112(c)(2) of this title; or “(ii) any other disease for which the Secretary, based on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards, determines that there is credible evidence of a positive association between occurrence of the disease in humans and exposure to ionizing radiation.”; (2) by striking out paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(2) (A) In the case of a veteran described in paragraph (1)(A), hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care may not be provided under subsection (a)(2)(F) with respect to— “(i) a disability that is found, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Under Secretary for Health, to have resulted from a cause other than an exposure described in paragraph (4)(A)(ii); or “(ii) a disease for which the National Academy of Sciences, in a report issued in accordance with section 2 of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, has determined that there is limited or suggestive evidence of the lack of a positive association between occurrence of the disease in humans and exposure to a herbicide agent. “(B) In the case of a veteran described in paragraph (1)(C), hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care may not be provided under subsection (a)(2)(F) with respect to a disability that is found, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Under Secretary for Health, to have resulted from a cause other than an exposure described in that paragraph. 110 STAT. 3182 “(3) Hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care may not be provided under or by virtue of subsection (a)(2)(F)— “(A) in the case of care for a veteran described in paragraph (1)(A), after December 31, 2002; and “(B) in the case of care for a veteran described in paragraph (1)(C), after December 31, 1998. “(4) For purposes of this subsection— “(A) The term ‘Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veteran’ means a veteran (i) who served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, and (ii) who the Secretary finds may have been exposed during such service to dioxin or was exposed during such service to a toxic substance found in a herbicide or defoliant used for military purposes during such era. “(B) The term ‘radiation-exposed veteran’ has the meaning given that term in section 1112(c)(3) of this title.”. (b) Savings Provisions.—The provisions of sections 1710(e) and 1712(a) of title 38, United States Code, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply on and after such date with respect to the furnishing of hospital care, nursing home care, and medical services for any veteran who was furnished such care or services before such date of enactment on the basis of presumed exposure to a substance or radiation under the authority of those provisions, but only for treatment for a disability for which such care or services were furnished before such date.